# 2025-04272: Amtrak Wants to Blast 125 MPH Past Track Workers?

2025-04272, Notice of Petition To Modify a Waiver of Compliance, is a Federal Register notice from Transportation Department, Federal Railroad Administration published 2025-03-17, effective FRA must receive comments on the petition by April 16, 2025.; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-09-30).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2025-04272
- As of: 2026-09-30
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Document number: 2025-04272
- Title: Notice of Petition To Modify a Waiver of Compliance
- Type: Notice
- Agencies: Transportation Department; Federal Railroad Administration
- Citation: 90 FR 12446
- Published: 2025-03-17
- Effective: FRA must receive comments on the petition by April 16, 2025.
- Comments close: not stated
- Significant: no
- Touches household money: yes
- Regulation identifier numbers: none
- Last updated: 2026-09-30

## In one line

Amtrak Wants to Blast 125 MPH Past Track Workers?

## Summary

Amtrak wants to change a rule that limits how fast their special Tier III trains can go near track workers. They’re asking to remove the speed limit of 125 mph when passing work zones on nearby tracks. If approved, this could speed up travel without extra costs, but the public has until April 16, 2025, to share their thoughts.

## Abstract

This document provides the public notice that by letter received December 10, 2024, the National Railroad Passenger Corporation (Amtrak) petitioned FRA for relief from a condition required by FRA's August 9, 2016 decision letter in this docket.

## Effects PRIA read

- Remove 125 mph work-zone speed cap: benefit, low. Amtrak asks FRA to remove condition 11a that requires Tier III trainsets to use a speed restriction not to exceed 125 mph when passing roadway work limits on adjacent track. In its petition Amtrak says, if the condition is removed, trainsets could operate "at speeds up to 160 mph in designated high…
- Planned safety and barrier investments: benefit, medium. Amtrak says it will enact risk mitigations including right-of-way barrier and fencing improvements, investment in technologies to reduce the risk of maintenance-of-way collisions, and system-wide procedural safety updates. These actions are presented by Amtrak as the basis for its request to remove…

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- [2026-17996](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-17996): Safety Advisory 2026-01; Restricted Speed, 2026-09-03

## Sources
- [2025-04272 on federalregister.gov](https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/03/17/2025-04272/notice-of-petition-to-modify-a-waiver-of-compliance)
- [2025-04272 as published (PDF)](https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2025-03-17/pdf/2025-04272.pdf)

## Related
- [Previous: 2025-04271, Change in Bank Control Notices; Acquisitions of Shares of a Bank or Bank Holdin…](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2025-04271)
- [Next: 2025-04273, Notice of Petition for Inclusion in Waiver of Compliance](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2025-04273)
- [All Federal Register documents](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2025-04272 (as of 2026-09-30).